Good morning! It’s Tuesday, Sept. 22. This is Rob.
Up and coming: Mariachi Monarca is a Fresno-based ensemble gaining a following after gigs at places like Tower Porch Fest, Engelman Cellars and Chukchansi Park for Fresno Grizzlies games, among others. ABC30
New trail: The City of Clovis will host a ribbon-cutting event for the new Letterman Trail at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 29. The trail is named in honor of Clinton J. Letterman, a volunteer firefighter who died in 1969 after suffering a heart attack while battling a house fire. YourCentralValley
50% blank? Fresno State farm suffers big pistachio losses after March heat. ABC30
Celebrating La Raza: Hundreds packed downtown Fresno over the weekend of Fiestas Patrias in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. YourCentralValley
1. What’s happening with Tacos El Cabezon?
A taco shop that landed in Fresno with a huge splash less than a year ago has once again been closed for an extended period and its future is anything but clear.
Fresnoland’s Vince Mancini went looking for owner Armando Arias Jr. Neighboring Fulton Street businesses said they haven’t seen him for weeks.
Arias Jr., the restaurant’s self-styled “big head” namesake, promised Mexicali-style tacos and Christianity.
But, the shop has also struggled publically.
Arias’ Shaw and Maroa-located truck shut down this spring and the McKinley and Fruit location faced unpaid rent after four months without ever opening, among other permitting issues. A six-figure court judgement in Ohio is following the business owner.
It’s also at least the second time the high-popular taco shop owner has left people wondering where he is and what’s happening.
Arias was reported missing for a few days in April before police found him and, he said later, that he had been in the hospital.
Read the full Fresnoland story here.
2. Early access?
The California High-Speed Rail Authority says it is facing a looming cash crunch by the end of next year — and they want early access to $20 billion the state has pledged, The Fresno Bee reports.
Without the cash injection, the authority says it will once again miss its construction targets, which calls for the completion of the 171-mile Bakersfield-to-Merced line by 2033, coming in at a cool $35.7 billion.
“The problem is that money is being allocated to the project at $1 billion annually through 2045 — a rate too slow to keep up with high-speed rail’s spending schedule,” The Bee reports.
News of the cash scramble comes just days after a report revealed the authority improperly paid $700,000 for consultants’ luxury flights and visits to restaurants and bars.
The project’s yearslong has become increasingly controversial and expensive, meanwhile the authority has said it plans to begin laying tracks in the Valley before the new year.
3. Two killed fighting Yosemite’s Dome Fire
Greg King, a pilot for Fly Precision, died in the crash on Sunday afternoon, while battling the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park. A second person in the plane was also killed in the crash but has not been identified publicly, YourCentralValley reported.
Parts of Yosemite remain closed as the fire burns near the park’s southern entrance, moving north and east at a pace The Fresno Bee described as “moderate.”
The closure area stretches from Wawona, north to the Badger Pass Ski Area and Glacier Point Road and from Wawona Road (the 41 freeway), to Chinquapin.
The blaze sparked Sept. 15 and has consumed more than 3,200 acres and remained just 15% contained last Monday.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
